With the sheer wealth of Stephen King movies in existence, it is only logical that some are ripe for remakes. King is one of the most adapted authors in history, and studios and production companies have already turned most of his major novels into films or TV shows.

Some Stephen King movies like The Shawshank Redemption or The Shining are masterpieces, many are mediocre, and some are straight-up terrible. The Children of the Corn movies are tough work (especially on a binge viewing), while more recent outings like the Firestarter remake were ᴅᴇᴀᴅ on arrival.

In some cases, the bad Stephen King adaptations were based on great books and deserve second chances. Considering most of the author’s key books have been filmed twice or more anyway (Carrie, Salem’s Lot, etc), it feels like some of the lesser-known films deserve a sH๏τ at redemption.

Dreamcatcher (2003)

Dreamcatcher was the first novel King penned following the 1999 accident that almost claimed his life. By King’s own admission, the novel – where four psychic friends reunite on a hunting trip only to face an alien invasion – was written in a painkiller-fuelled haze. It’s a sprawling, messy tale, and the resulting 2003 movie version was a disaster.

Despite a great director and cast (including Morgan Freeman and Timothy Olyphant), Dreamcatcher received terrible reviews and bombed hard. The source material is undeniably flawed, but it also features some terrifying pᴀssages and fascinating concepts.

This includes a character being besieged inside their own “memory warehouse” after being possessed by an alien enтιтy. The right combination of director and cast could do wonders with a Dreamcatcher remake, and redeem one of King’s biggest movie duds.

Christine (1983)

John Carpenter adapted King’s Christine in the aftermath of The Thing’s box-office failure. Carpenter had actually been fired from another King film (Firestarter) as a result, and confessed that in his desperation for a gig, he took Christine. He didn’t feel much pᴀssion for the source material, and as a result, it’s not one of Carpenter’s favorites of his own.

Christine wasn’t much of a hit either, though it’s become a cult favorite in recent years. It’s a really solid adaptation that zeroes in on the various traumas of being a teenager, but while it’s atmospheric, it’s never scary. Carpenter also chopped a lot of material from the book.

Over 40 years on, there’s room for a fresh take on King’s novel that is more faithful and revs up the scares and suspense. Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) was attached to a Christine remake in 2021, but development on this version appears to have stalled.

The Dark Half (1993)

The Dark Half is one of King’s most oddly personal tales, as it deals with an author being haunted by his literal dark side. During the 1980s, King wrote several books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, with these novels (like The Running Man) being more violent and edgy than King’s output.

The author had to drop the name after it was uncovered in the press, so he decided to use that concept for The Dark Half. The novel and George Romero’s film involved a King-inspired author whose alter ego comes to life to torment him. The film is a solid chiller, but it’s also kind of bland.

It toned down the harshness of King’s source material, and Romero didn’t feel that interested in exploring the duality of the protagonist and his “dark half.” It’s also one of the more forgotten King films of the 1990s, so it’s ready for a new take that could flesh out the subtext further and not flinch from the novel’s meanness.

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

King’s one and only stint behind the camera was for Maximum Overdrive, based on his short story Trucks. The author was in the midst of his alcohol and drug addictions during production, which he has since admitted affected the final product substantially.

While there’s dumb fun to be had with Maximum Overdrive and it features some impressive practical effects, it might be the worst King movie there is. The acting is universally poor, it’s remarkably free of tension, and its premise is just too thin to hold a 95-minute runtime.

The movie was remade in 1997 as Trucks, which was only marginally better. Still, there’s a great, grungy B-movie to be made out of Maximum Overdrive’s premise. A director like Ozgood Perkins or Eli Roth could run riot with the concept of machines turning against humanity, and it’s not like it would be redoing a sacred movie either.

Graveyard Shift (1990)

Probably the scuzziest entry in the King canon, Graveyard Shift involves a mill being overrun by man-eating rats. The short story the movie is based upon isn’t the author’s sharpest work, but it was a suitably nasty, grim little tale, but the adaptation lacks King’s black wit.

Graveyard Shift has some cool VFX and a super hammy turn by genre icon Brad Dourif, but there must be a better film to be made from King’s gruesome short. A fresh pair of eyes could hook into the theme of the mill workers being exploited by their greedy boss, and the not-so-subtle rat race subtext inherent in the text.

Cell (2016)

King is not a fan of mobile phones and humble bragged while writing his 2006 horror epic Cell that he didn’t own a phone. The book is very much of its time, and is set in a post-apocalyptic world where most of mankind is turned into zombie-like beings via a mysterious cellular signal.

It’s a great hook, even if Cell isn’t necessarily the author’s best work. Sadly, the 2016 film version is near-unwatchable, despite boasting Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. It’s a cheap, ugly and thrill-free affair, but the book is deserving of a second try.

Eli Roth once planned to turn it into a gory blockbuster, and considering people are as addicted to their phones as ever, it’s still very relevant. Since nobody remembers the 2016 film anyway, a Cell remake makes total sense.

Thinner (1996)

The original take on Thinner is cheesy fun, being a delightfully nasty little moral thriller about an overweight lawyer who starts wasting away to nothing due to a curse. Robert John Burke is great in the lead, and there are some nice effects, but the film hasn’t aged gracefully either.

It’s very much mid-tier King, and it would be cool for a director like Sam Raimi (who was once attached) or Ari Aster to bring their brand of black comedy to a 21st Century Thinner. Since we’re in an era of overly literal horror concepts (Together, King’s own The Boogeyman, etc), Thinner would fit right in.

Needful Things (1993)

The Needful Things movie is alright, but its extended TV edit (which runs over three hours) is the best way to view it. Like a lot of King’s books, this one has a great elevator pitch, where a mystery shop opens in a small town selling items where the price is more than money.

Rick and Morty once parodied the concept, and while the 1993 film is decent, it feels too safe. It’s like a TV movie propped up by a great cast, but there’s a reason nobody really talks about it outside of Max Von Sydow’s devilish villain turn.

A new Needful Things could up the production value a few degrees, and bring some modern commentary to the concept of selling one’s soul just for a trinket. He may have wanted Thinner, but Sam Raimi feels like a great fit for this one.

Silver Bullet (1985)

Based on Stephen King’s illustrated short story Cycle of the Werewolf, the original Silver Bullet is given a lot of heart thanks to the relationship between Gary Busey and Corey Haim’s characters. Still, the janky werewolf effects and a general lack of polish (or frankly, scares) leaves room for improvement.

It’s also just been a while since there was a really awesome werewolf movie (no, Blumhouse’s Wolf Man does not count), so a reboot of Silver Bullet could be the ticket. Retaining the emotional core of the original and adding a werewolf that looks badᴀss, a Silver Bullet remake could easily overtake the original in popular consciousness.

The Dark Tower (2017)

The Dark Tower is King’s fantasy opus, spanning many books and various spinoffs. The 2017 film was long-awaited, but a relatively short, PG-13-rated take on King’s bloody, sprawling saga was definitely not what Dark Tower fans wanted.

It wasn’t what most moviegoers wanted either, because aside from a cast that featured Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, it’s a dull mess that failed to capture the tone of King’s universe. Mike Flanagan is said to be developing a show, but it would be fantastic to see The Dark Tower on the big screen instead.

That’s especially true if it’s a big-budget fantasy epic in the vein of the Dune films. King created such an intriguing world with his books that blends genres, and it should be depicted on the biggest screen possible. It’s a suitably towering work, and King’s Dark Tower saga deserves deluxe treatment.